Cops suspect gangland arson killed girl, 10

TRENTON -- Ten-year-old Qua-Daishai Hopkins, a youngster nicknamed "Buddha" because of her high but gentle spirits, is the third little girl to be murdered by apparent gangland arson in the last three years, law enforcement sources say.

"She was a lively kid, a sort of tomboy who liked to ride bikes and play ball," said neighbor Celia Echols of the fourth-grader, who succumbed to smoke inhalation early Sunday as a raging arson fire destroyed her home at 225 Walnut Ave.

Police said Qua-Daishai's death is a homicide -- the eighth in the city thus far this year.

"We do believe this fire was set deliberately," said Police Director Joseph Santiago in a statement issued yesterday.

Last year, a Bounty Hunter Bloods gang member confessed that he and a henchman tossed murderous firebombs in 2005 to square a drug debt. The resulting early morning blaze killed Rasheen Glover and his two little girls, Janaya Glover, 6, and Jyasia Watson, 7.

And now authorities are looking into the possibility that Bounty Hunter Bloods leader Isaac Barlow -- though doing life in federal prison -- might have instigated the hellish arson that spelled death for Qua-Daishai (pronounced Qua-day-sha), law enforcement sources said.

Barlow's notorious crackhouse headquarters -- known as the Hunter's Mansion -- was once based right next door to the Hopkins' three-story brick row home.

Investigators confide it is quite possible that the gangsters mistakenly believe someone in the Hopkins household could have witnessed some of the drug dealings and other dire activities to unfold at the so-called Hunter's Mansion. Tragically, sources said, innocent family members would not be in a position to know any such thing.

The former crack house at 223 Walnut sustained little visible fire damage Sunday, but its vacant rooms got smokey, singed and soggy, and now bear the shards of windows that exploded during the fire.

Barlow's set ruled the 200 and 300 blocks of Walnut Avenue until a daring FBI-led raid smashed the operation back in 2006.

The crack peddler, lately termed by the FBI as a "domestic terrorist," was given life without parole in January of this year for heading up a major crack distribution ring. His henchman, Alfredo "Fredo" Payne, landed a prison term of ten years.

"We are working diligently assisting with the Trenton Police Department and Mercer County authorities in this homicide investigation," Bill Evanina, supervisor of the local FBI office, said yesterday.

What gives credence to the idea that Barlow might have instigated the Hopkins arson, sources say, is that the record shows Barlow has, while behind bars, previously tried to rub out people he thought could hurt his chances at trial.

Though serving life without parole, Barlow may have ordered the latest arson to either boost his chances for an appeal or simply seek mindless revenge, sources say.

Walnut Avenue is a street where violence comes bloody, often and with exquisite cruelty. A Bloods drug turf war led to the death in 2005 of Edwin Andino.

Just a few months back, a woman allegedly attacked and killed her boyfriend with a knife on Walnut Avenue. And weeks later, police raided a home there at the corner of Chambers Street to nab one of the two suspects in the murder of beloved community leader Jerry Eure Sr.

On Sunday, it was poor Qua-Daishai's turn to suffer the Walnut Avenue curse. She was all alone and trapped in the dark about 1 a.m. Sunday as acrid smoke put a death grip on her lungs.

Local police are investigating the likelihood that "an accelerant" was used to fan flames that ripped through and ultimately gutted the Hopkins' home, city police said.

Qua-Daishai's mother, Francis Hopkins, 35, managed to escape and was later released after treatment for unspecified injuries at Saint Francis Medical Center. Hopkins' two sons, aged 18 and 22, were away with relatives the night of the fire.

Neighbors tried to smash their way into the burning home in an attempt to effect a rescue, one even wielding a sledge hammer. But flames thwarted their efforts, witnesses said.

The mother's whereabouts were unknown late last night, and authorities would do nothing to clear up that mystery. "We can't comment on that," Evanina said.

The night before the arson fire, innocence reined on the 200 block of Walnut as Qua-Daishia played a casual game of hide and seek with neighborhood kids, noted Keith Hamilton, a fifth-grader who participated in the fun.

Ten-year-old neighbor Janet Randall, a classmate of Qua-Daishia's at P.J. Hill Elementary School, said her friend was kind to others and energetically playful.

"She always liked to jump rope and dance," Randall said.

A little altar of keepsakes was erected by a police/fire cordon along the border of the black and shadowy devastation that was once the Hopkins home.

Neighbor Dolores Jones echoed the positive feelings expressed by others in the neighborhood toward the Hopkins.

"The mother worked hard for her family as a school bus driver," said Jones.

All the Walnut Avenue neighbors who spoke to The Trentonian yesterday said they saw no suspicious activity leading up to the fire.

Santiago called the latest arson death of a little girl a "heinous act" and said "we as a police department and as a city must do everything in our power to bring the people responsible to justice."

Mayor Doug Palmer said he was "outraged" by Qua-Daishai's murder.

"We are not going to rest until we bring this case to justice," Palmer said.

Anyone with information in the case should call detectives at 609-989-4168 or (609) 989-4074. information an also be directed to the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.